Re: Your SF/F Novel

From: farah mendlesohn (fm7@YORK.AC.UK)
Date: Sun May 18 1997 - 23:58:27 PDT


On Sun, 18 May 1997 15:36:36 -0500 Monica Gaudio wrote:

> So, I pose two questions. What was the first SF/F novel you ever
read, and
> what was the first "feminist" SF/F novel you ever read?
>

There is a story to this. I only read sf at all (although I had been
reading myths for a while) because I wasstaying with my Dad and ran
out of books (as usual) a friend of his gave me a suitcase full of
books, all of which was sf. It was either read these or the back of the
baked bean can. I can't remember which was the first I read,but I can
remember very clearly the two which made the most impact.

Brian Stableford's The Florians (the first in the Daedelus series) and
Joe Haldeman's All My Sins Remembered. Between them they
converted me wholeheartedly to sf and in the long term to pacifism. I
continue to recommend them wholeheartedly, but The Florians is not
in print any more. If anybody finds a good condition second hand
copy, Brian would love it, so do let me know.

Although neither of these is feminist, Brian's book has some very
strong female characters, and no romance. The first *feminist* sf I
read (taken in the broadest sense, was Heinlein's Friday. Deeply
flawed but very liberating.

Farah.



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